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GM doubles miles open to its Super Cruise technology

DETROIT — General Motors said on Wednesday owners of certain vehicles equipped with its Super Cruise assisted driving system will now be able to use it on 400,000 miles (643,740 km) of North American roads, doubling the current operating area as Tesla and other automakers race to deploy hands-free cruising technology. GM's Super Cruise system, like Tesla's Autopilot system, is a driver assistance system, and does not enable true autonomous driving. Spurred by Tesla's aggressive deployment of Autopilot, and Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk's promises of a more advanced "Full Self Driving" system, GM, Ford, Volkswagen and Mercedes-Benz are racing to deploy competing partial automation technology in major markets. At the same time, safety regulators are showing concern that drivers do not understand that Autopilot and similar systems are not designed to take over driving in every circumstance. The GM system's sensors and software allow a motorist to cruise with hands off the wheel on highways that have been mapped in detail. But the driver is expected to stay alert and ready to take over the car. GM uses technology to monitor the driver, and Super Cruise will sound alarms or slow the car to a stop if it detects that a driver is not responding. Starting later this year, GM plans to enable vehicles equipped with Super Cruise and the company's latest vehicle electronic system to operate hands-free on major, undivided highways in the United States and Canada, as well as additional miles of divided, interstate highways. Currently, Super Cruise operates only on interstate, divided highways. The expansion, enabled by wider digital mapping, will allow owners of properly equipped GM vehicles to cruise hands-free on stretches of Route 66 and the Pacific Coast Highway in the U.S. West or the Trans-Canada highway in Western Canada, GM said. Many of the new roads GM has mapped are in rural, heartland states where GM pickup trucks are popular. GM plans to offer Super Cruise as an option on its Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra large pickups later this year. GM has said previously it intends to offer Super Cruise as an option on 22 models by the end of 2023. Depending on the model, Super Cruise costs $2,200 to $2,500 to add as an option. (Reporting by Joe White in Detroit; Editing by Matthew Lewis) Related video: Cadillac Chevrolet GM GMC Technology Super Cruise

2020 Cadillac CT5-V First Drive | The lowercase v series

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. — This isnÂ’t the Cadillac CT5-V we were expecting. After years of successively higher horsepower and world-beating performance statistics, Cadillac flipped the script with the CTS-replacing CT5 by making the reborn carÂ’s first V-badged sedan a middle performance tier that will slot below a new model that hasnÂ’t yet been released. The outgoing CTS-V pounded the pavement with 640 horsepower; the CT5-V weÂ’re discussing here offers up a seemingly paltry 360 ponies. The CT5Â’s styling aligns with recent models like the XT4, XT5, XT6 and CT6, but is another major departure from the CTS it replaces. The automakerÂ’s abandoned Art and Science design philosophy culminated in a CTS that looked modern and distinctive. Crisp lines, clean edges and sharp features have given way to the CT5Â’s more flowing sense of style, and with the exception of its gracefully curved pseudo-fastback greenhouse that results in an unfortunately awkward C-pillar transition, itÂ’s right on the border of blending in instead of standing out. As you would expect, the CT5-V has a more aggressive look than other CT5 models. Bits that are bright on the standard car are blacked out on the V, and the sportier car has a more chiseled front face with a mesh grille that flows more air than if it were just wide open. Similar changes are seen in the cabin, where the V replaces wood trim with carbon fiber. WeÂ’d prefer some other trim options in the V, like maybe brushed aluminum, since the monochromatic dark leather with dark trim leads to — you guessed it — a starkly dark interior. Cadillac has a brand-new infotainment system that will be launching soon in the upcoming Escalade SUV, but the CT5 sticks with the brandÂ’s oft-maligned CUE. As much as customers and journalists like us have complained about CUE, the latest (and likely last) version found in the CT5 works pretty well. All the necessary functions are easy to find, and the touchscreen is quick and responsive. And if you really donÂ’t like the interface, there are physical buttons for the climate control and a pair of dials for audio. An available rear camera mirror offers a wider field of view, or can be used as a regular mirror. Forward collision alert, automatic braking and pedestrian detection are standard. A 360-degree camera system, adaptive cruise control, automatic parking assist and rear auto braking are available.

J.D. Power: Mini, Lexus again offer most satisfying sales experience

JD Power has released its annual Sales Satisfaction Index Study, and once again Mini and Lexus have taken top honors. Overall, buyers are more satisfied with the auto-buying sales experience than they were last year, with those surveyed reporting an average score of 664 points on a 1,000-point scale. That's up from 648 in 2011. Dealer satisfaction also increased by five points over last year as well.
All told, Lexus brought home an index score of 737, which was high enough to put it atop the luxury brands for the second year in a row. JD Power says Infiniti came in second in that category with a score of 728 and Cadillac rounded out the podium with it's rating of 725. Speaking of Infiniti, that brand saw the single largest jump in sales satisfaction of any brand on the survey, popping up 52 index points over 2011.
Among mass-market brands, Mini ranked highest with a score of 712, followed closely by Buick with 706 and GMC farther down the line with 683. You can check out the full press release below for more information.